


Took you long enough

by Dooiney_Oie



Series: Last elf standing [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Minor taakitz, Post-Canon, Rated teen for Swears even though there's barely any, Spoilers for the last couple of arcs, This isn't at all graphic but he does Die so y'know death cw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 09:30:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12009909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dooiney_Oie/pseuds/Dooiney_Oie
Summary: Taako would’ve probably outlived everyone else, given that he was one of the younger of the of the long-lived races and Lup and Barry are pretty much immortal at this point, but even he has to pass on eventually.AKA I had a lot of emotions after the finale and needed to process somehow





	Took you long enough

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first post here and the first real fic I've ever written so please be gentle with me as we board this fun little feels train. I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

 

“…Are you ready?”

Taako opens his eyes. It’s strangely difficult. He doesn’t remember falling asleep. In front of him is Kravitz’ face - the face of his lover, the face of his reaper. He smiles. It takes him a minute to put his words together. He knows what’s coming, has been able to feel it for a while.

“No scythe? I’m disappointed, babe.”

Kravitz chuckles softly. “I thought I should stay handsome to lure you in. We don’t want you getting away again.”

Even that took so much. A tiny quip, five small words, but he can feel his grasp on things slipping. As the last of his power falters, his long-maintained magical facade melts in a brief shower of sparks. His hair is white now, his skin lined, bones sharp against it. For the first time in decades, he actually looks his age.

“…Ugh… well shit.” An embarrassed smile flickers across his face. “I was hoping I could keep that one up into overtime.”

Another voice comes from nearby. He can’t see her, can’t see much of anything any more, but he can feel his sister there.

“Face it, brother, you’re ancient. You may as well look the part.”

He stifles a laugh that turns into a cough.

“Yeah, well, we can’t all be immortal beings made of pure magic, smartass.”

There’s a heavy silence, made of seconds that move slower than clouds across the sky on a windless day. It’s dark in this room, and quiet. The only sound is his own, slow, breathing. That’s getting difficult, too. He feels Lup’s hand on his arm, just barely.

“Come on,” she says, “let’s go, slowpoke. I think you’ve kept everyone waiting long enough.”

He thinks about the others, the ones still bound by mortal lives. First Magnus, then Lucretia, then all the rest, each of them disappearing one, by one, by one until he was the only one left. Never alone - there was always Lup,  _always_  Lup, and Barry, and Kravitz, and Ren, and Merle’s kids and all the new people he’d met over the years, but with each loss it felt like the ground underneath him turned to sand a little more. Even Angus had passed on so long ago. He’d seen the boy’s whole life go by - the blessings and curses of an elven lifespan.  _All dust_ , he thinks, remembering words from centuries before.

Kravitz leans closer. His face is blurry - everything is. Blurry and fading. Something in the fading is familiar even after all these years.

“Time to go. For real this time.”

The grim reaper kisses his forehead, takes his hand. His touch is warm.

The last living member of the Institute of Planar Research and Exploration lets out a long, long breath.

He feels himself lifted up, helped by three pairs of gentle hands. He can see Lup now, and Barry, too. Kravitz’s face is in sharp focus again - he can’t remember the last time he saw it like this. He feels light, his mind clear. And he steps away from himself.

And the world turns bright, and soft.

And he looks ahead into the brightness.

And they’re all waiting for him.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first of a backlog of fics I'll be adding over the next few days; there's one more in this series from ren's pov, and then a bunch of oneshots. They're all about either taako or kravitz in some form, usually both, because I have such a weakness for these two it's ridiculous.  
> Please bear with me through any slip ups I might make while I learn this site - as I said before, I have no idea what I'm doing.


End file.
